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Saturday, April 15, 2017

...Showers and thunderstorms with locally heavy rain possible from portions of the mid/upper Mississippi valley to the Great Lakes...

...Severe thunderstorms possible for portions of the southern/central plains...

...Above average temperatures expected for much of the central and eastern U.S. through the weekend...

Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms are forecast from the central Plains to the Northeast this weekend as a frontal system tracks east through the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes region. Precipitation persist into Monday along the northern-tier states as another frontal system moves southward from the Canadian Prairie Provinces -- with the higher amounts focusing over the eastern Dakotas and western Minnesota. Embedded areas of higher rainfall may increase the risk for flash flooding. WPC has an excessive rainfall outlook highlighting a marginal risk for flooding across portions of the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes region over the next few days.

Farther to the south, scattered thunderstorms will likely develop across the southern and central Plains where a dry line has set up. The Storm Prediction Center has identified that conditions will be favorable for strong to severe thunderstorm development for this area and from the Upper Mississippi valley to the central Plains along the axis of the advancing front. By Sunday, the cold front will move east into the Ohio valley and the Northeast, bringing areas of showers and thunderstorms to those regions. The tail end of the front will become slow-moving or stationary from the southern plains to the Mid-Mississippi valley, keeping areas of showers and storms in the picture for those areas through Sunday.

Across the West, mountain snows and valley rains have largely diminished across the northern Rockies and the Cascades however a few lingering showers will be possible this morning at the highest elevations. Another round of precipitation will spread from the West Coast inland to the Great Basin and Intermountain West by Sunday as a Pacific frontal system approaches. Snow will be possible at the higher elevations.

Above seasonal average temperatures will continue for much of the central and eastern states this weekend as high pressure at the mid and upper levels remains rooted in place. Highs of 10 to 20 degrees above average are forecast across much of the Ohio Valley,Great Lakes region and the Northeast. Portions of the Northeast could be as much as 25 degrees above average on Sunday. The northwestern U.S. will start the weekend with temperatures 5 to 10 degrees below average as an upper trough passes overhead. Temperatures will moderate for much of the region by Sunday, however. Below average temperatures may persist across northern California into Sunday as the next round of precipitation begins to overspread the region.

LOCAL NEWS

The Muskrat 2 Fire remains at 466 acres and is 90% contained and the Doe Knob Fire is also still at 530 acres with 95% containment. Wild land Firefighters continue to expand and improve the fire lines and mop up hot spots.

Please, if you have material you wish to burn outdoors, please put it off for a few more weeks.

LOCAL OUTLOOK

Our local weather pattern will remain summerlike with isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoons. Another weak cold front will settle into the region Monday, bringing increased chances of widespread showers and thunderstorms to Macon County. This front is expected to stall and keep unsettled weather in the forecast through Wednesday.

Weather Almanac for April 15th (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 86°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 2006
Lowest Temperature 20°F in Highlands in 1943
Greatest Rainfall 2.98 inches in Franklin in 1987
Greatest Snowfall There has been no measurable snowfall recorded in Macon County on this date since records began being kept in 1872.

THREE DAY OUTLOOK

TODAY (outdoor burning is not recommended)

Patchy fog early. Mostly sunny with highs in the mid to upper 70s. Calm winds early, the from the south 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.

TONIGHT

Partly cloudy with lows in the low to mid 50s and winds out of the south.

SUNDAY

Partly sunny with highs in the mid to upper 70s. Calm winds in the morning and 5 to 10 mph from the southeast in the afternoon. 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms beginning in the afternoon.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy with lows in the low to mid 50s and winds calming before midnight. 20% chance of rain, mainly before 3 am.

MONDAY

Mostly cloudy with highs in the mid 70s. 60% chance of rain and thunder, mainly after noon.

MONDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows near the low 50s. 40% chance of rain.

HAZARDS

No hazardous weather is expected. There is still an increased fire danger Due to Macon County still being in a Severe Drought. Outdoor burning is not recommended. The rain that is in the forecast for Wednesday won't even touch our situation. We will need several inches of rain over the course of weeks to recover.

The National Weather Service will be taking the regional weather radar offline for a few days around April 17th to install upgrades. The Public Information Statement follows:

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC

...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC RADAR SCHEDULED FOR UPGRADE DURING THE WEEK OF APRIL 17, 2017...

The weather radar used by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Greer, SC (KGSP) will be down for up to four days during the week of April 17, 2017. Technicians will install an important technological upgrade. The work on the WSR-88D radar has been scheduled to minimize any potential impacts to office operations and will be delayed if hazardous weather is forecast.

During the outage, radar coverage is available from adjacent radar sites including Columbia, SC (KCAE), Peachtree City, GA (KFFC), Morristown, TN (KMRX), Blacksburg, VA (KFCX), and Raleigh, NC (KRAX), as well as the terminal doppler radar at Charlotte, NC (TCLT).

A crew will install a new signal processor, which replaces obsolete technology, improves processing speed and data quality, provides added functionality, and supports IT security.

This is the first of four major upgrades, known as service life extension projects, planned in the next five years to replace and refurbish major components of the 20 year old WSR-88Ds and to keep the radars operational into the 2030s. The $150M investment is being made by the three organizations that use these radars: the NOAA National Weather Service, United States Air Force, and Federal Aviation Administration. The other service life extension projects include refurbishing the transmitter, pedestal, and equipment shelters.

The tri-agency Radar Operations Center, which supports the radars, estimates it will take about 10 months to upgrade the signal processor on all 159 operational WSR-88Ds.

As always, you can check to see what advisories, watches and warnings are in effect for Macon County by visiting http://is.gd/MACONWARN

MACON CALENDAR

If you have an event you wish to be added to this calendar, please send the information, along with a flyer in pdf format or a high quality photo, to editor@maconmedia.com
There is no charge for civic, educational or non profit groups.

For more information, please visit the Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/1248793605202655/

SYRINGE EXCHANGE PROGRAM

On January 1, 2017, the Syringe Exchange Program of Franklin began operating a comprehensive harm reduction program to address the opioid epidemic that is effecting western NC. Opioid overdose reversal kits including naloxone are available free of charge. If you have any questions about our services or if you know someone interested in volunteering, please contact Stephanie Almeida at 828-475-1920.

Heavens Above has an Android App that will assist you in observing the sky and even has a satellite tracker that will let you know when the International Space Station and dozens of other satellites are overhead. [LINK]

Stellarium is also an app that will assist you in observing the sky. It is available in both Android [LINK] and iOS versions. [LINK]

CROWD FUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month.

If you have a business or event you are interested in sponsorship opportunities or underwriting coverage, send an email to editor@MaconMedia.com for more information. Serious inquiries only.

Thank You to the people who have been sending in donations and those businesses who are underwriting coverage of news and events. You have kept Macon Media online. You have made it possible for Macon Media to begin purchasing state of the art equipment and begin work on building a real website with features not employed by any local news outlets.

You can find out more information on how to do that and some of what I plan to accomplish if I reach certain levels of funding at https://www.patreon.com/MaconMedia

Published at 4:20 am on April 15, 2017

#WNCscan #MaconWx #MaconSafety

Data and information sources: Sources (except where otherwise credited): heavens-above.com, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, The National Weather Service, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Penn State University Electronic Wall Map, The State Climate Office of North Carolina, Storm Prediction Center, U.S. Naval Observatory, and the Weather Prediction Center.

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